


Constant Vigil

by BardofHeartDive



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Children, Established Relationship, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Vaksani
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-16 23:58:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5845954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BardofHeartDive/pseuds/BardofHeartDive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Ms. Whiskey in person, during which time she gave me a Mass Effect random prompt generator. The generator gives you a pairing and a word or phrase. On my first use it gave me "Garrus/Zaeed, constant vigil" (which is terribly ironic if you know anything about Whiskey) so I wrote this for her.</p><p>The story takes place in ThreeWhiskeyLunch's universe. Ingrid and Paxton (Pax) are her OCs, used with permission.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Constant Vigil

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThreeWhiskeyLunch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeWhiskeyLunch/gifts).



> A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Ms. Whiskey in person, during which time she gave me a Mass Effect random prompt generator. The generator gives you a pairing and a word or phrase. On my first use it gave me "Garrus/Zaeed, constant vigil" (which is terribly ironic if you know anything about Whiskey) so I wrote this for her.
> 
> The story takes place in ThreeWhiskeyLunch's universe. Ingrid and Paxton (Pax) are her OCs, used with permission.

When Garrus got Zaeed’s message saying Ingrid had the "floo" his first reaction was confusion. Since he couldn’t come up with any connection between his foster-daughter and flying or chimneys he decided it must be another one of humanity’s seemingly endless idioms. He was almost done with his mission, just tying up the last loose ends and putting the finishing touches on his report, and his mate had told him not to worry. He made a mental to note to ask about it when he got back and turned his attention back to the task at hand.

He was totally unprepared when he arrived home late the next night and found the girl sleeping fitfully in Zaeed’s arms on the couch. She was shivering despite the blankets piled on top of them and sweat had plastered her blond curls to her head. Standing in the doorway, Garrus opened his mouth to say something but Zaeed tapped a finger to his lips to stop him. He slipped out from under her, tucking her doll under her arm, then met his mate in the kitchen.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was sick?” Garrus’s subvocals keened with worry.

“I told you she had the flu.”

“But . . . you . . . ”

Both men went silent as Ingrid started coughing. Garrus let out a distressed trill - surely a child that small should not make a noise that big - and would have rushed over to her if Zaeed’s hand had not landed firmly on his shoulder, holding him in place. After another cough, she rolled over and drifted back to sleep.

Garrus picked up where he left off. “You said not to worry.”

“I took her to see Dr. Leider yesterday morning. I made sure they checked for renal cancer first.”

Garrus, too concerned to find that funny, trilled again.

“It’s viral so it’s got to run its course,” Zaeed continued before his mate could decide to scoop the girl up and carry her to the nearest hospital. At least they'd all have clothes on this time. “Doc said rest and fluids and to watch her temperature. Pax’s been more trouble than her really. Kept waking her up to check on her, just like a goddamn mother hen.” He snorted a laugh then added, “I told him you’d tell him good-night when you got in.”

“I’ll do that,” Garrus said.

He slipped behind Zaeed as he left, giving his shoulder a quick nip. When he returned to the living room Ingrid was awake, her blue eyes glassy and feverish. She was sitting on Zaeed’s lap, taking small sips from the cup he was holding for her. Garrus nuzzled her and she leaned against him, too tired to give him a real hug.

“Do you want me to take her?” he asked his mate.

Zaeed shook his head. “Go to bed, love.”

Garrus stood but he didn’t move. He watched Ingrid take another drink at Zaeed’s urging then snuggled back against him. She had always seemed delicate to him, even to the point of frail, with her tiny stature and her sober face. Nestled on Zaeed’s lap she looked like she could shatter at any minute. He reached out with a single talon and stroked her cheek.

“She might need - ”

“ _You_ need some rest,” Zaeed interrupted. “How long has it been since you got a good night's sleep?” Knowing that the answer would only make things worse, Garrus simply stood there. “I thought so. Go on. I’ve got her.” When the he still didn’t move Zaeed dropped his voice to low warning and added, “It’ll wake her up if I have to drag your ass to the bed.”

That got him moving, though he did cast more than a few looks back at them.

Even though he was exhausted - his debriefing had made the total nineteen hours - he had a hard time getting to sleep. He managed to catch a short nap but woke up a few hours later to an empty bed. He crept down the hall and found his mate snoring on the couch with Ingrid on his chest. Her fever had broken and she was sleeping peaceful. Their blanket had slipped off in the night and he pulled it back over them then padded back to bed.


End file.
